“Now it came to pass on a certain day that (Jesus) went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. 23. But as they sailed, He fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. 24. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased and there was calm.”
I can understand the disciple’s fear. I rode out a hurricane on an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. The big carrier was tossed to and fro and from side to side by the powerful waves. I can imagine what it was like for them on a fishing boat. In this case all the difference was made because Jesus was in the boat. There is a great lesson in this passage for us. The stormy sea is typical of some of our own “voyages” in life. All of us experience storms of some sort at various times in our lives. As this passage reveals, when Jesus is in the “ship” He makes all of the difference. First, let’s take a look at the stormy sea. We experience many storms on the sea of life. Think about the storms of temptation that we face on a daily basis. Then there are the storms of adverse circumstances and great difficulties in our lives. Also, there are storms of doubt and fear. We face storms that are related to physical illness, and we wonder where Jesus is. It is interesting to note that Jesus did not steer His disciples around the storm but brought them through it. It should have comforted the disciples to remember that Jesus said, “Let us go to the other side of the lake.” His word assured them that they would reach the other side. Those of us who believe in Him should have faith that Jesus will carry us to the other side of the storm. Second, let’s take a look at the sleeping Savior. Sometimes it seems that Jesus is asleep when we go through our various storms. It seems that He is unconcerned about what we are going through. Jesus could sleep because He knew everything would be alright. The all-knowing Savior already knew the outcome of the voyage. Of course, the disciples did not see it that way, and quite often, neither do we. The power of Jesus did not wane because He slept. He has more power asleep than anyone else has awake. He was Messiah whether asleep or awake. We have great assurance that our Savior does not sleep today, though sometimes we might think so. What He expects of us is to wait and to trust until His will is done in our lives. Third, let’s take a look at the stilling of the storm. Jesus could have prevented the storm, or He could have delayed their sailing until the storm had passed. He could have told His disciples to stay on the other side because a dangerous storm was coming up. Instead, they sailed directly into the storm. Why? Think of what the disciples would have missed if they had not taken the voyage into the stormy sea. They would have missed, not just a great miracle and a display of Christ’s power, but they would have missed the lesson that Jesus had the power to still storms. If He could do that to the Sea of Galilee, He could do it in the circumstances of their lives. Think of what we miss if we do not learn to trust Jesus through the storms of life. They saw Jesus do what only Jesus could do, and can, do. Could it be that when we go through the storms of our lives that Jesus is saying: “Be still and see what I can do”? Get this down: Jesus is Lord of your stormy seas too. Trust your life and your well-being to Him. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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